I have a pet peeve in blogs. Technical blogs are supposed to give you practical tools but spiritual or inspirational or uplifting blogs don’t have to. They just tell you the “what” without the “how.” There are pathways defined but now also tools on how to avoid or work with the rocks or the monsters on the path.

I want to breach that model and create another that does give you tools. This is the time of year that is marvelous; a time to be thankful, spend lots of time with family (or not), and have expectations galore. It’s when commitments, the how-do-you-deal-with-all-the-pulls, and all the stressors abound. In spite of these, you’ll still actually be able to enjoy these Holy/Holly Days.

Each Week for the next 40 days (6 weeks till Christmas) I will give you 1, yes, one tip that can easily be incorporated into your life so you can enjoy this time and not feel drawn and quartered.

Turn your challenges into Diamonds. It has been said that your challenges brighten or bring light to your lives and prosperity expands your life. Working through suffering is not something that happens quickly. Do this one thing and it will all be good. There is no instant pain relief that doesn’t cause pain on the back end.

Here is something that will help you but you will need to create some silence in your life. Find solace in the bathtub, bathroom, closet, or take a walk by yourself even if it’s late at night—just make sure it is a good neighborhood. You can find a way if you want to.

Good news is if you do this one thing every day when you are going through challenges, they will reveal the vastness they were set up to reveal to you. This is going to seem just too simple:

Sit quietly and ask your suffering, what is to come from it to teach you. Then be quiet and listen. Then listen some more. The asking part is easy, the listening, not as much. But the best way to enhance that is to be open to hearing what will give you patience, allow gratitude, imbue you with humility. This won’t be an immediate ah-ha but it may. This is for 40-days minimum. You give yourself these 11-22 minutes of quiet. You can drive in silence and listen. It is the listening that will quiet the mind. You can’t be doing things other than driving and that is not at the top of the list in silence for this part. Why? Because your mind will focus on what you are doing and not on the question you asked.

Don’t fear challenges. Be present with them and they will give you the present you have asked for. Stay tuned to the next post which will shed more light on the subject and into how this all connects to the rest of your life.